Mining-machine.



N. D. LEVIN.

MINING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYZS. an.

' 1,290,022. immed Dec. 31,1918.

3 SHEEFSSHEEI 2.

N. D. LEVIN.

MINING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25, I9II.

Patented Dec. 31, 19l8.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

01% A N I wll/lllllll/ll i7111/11/111111/1/1/0/1/1/1/1/1/11 I I3 Q I I I I DI/$446M.

\ I a a I j ior To all whom it may cmipern:

UNITED STATES-PATENT OFFICE.

NII ILS D. LEVIN, OF COLUMBUS OH I O, A SSIGNOB TO THE JEFFREY MANUFACTURING- oomrm, or COLUMBUS, oruo, acoaroaarron or 01:10.

' MINING- acrame:

Original application filed August 7, 1913, Serial No. 783,564. Divided and-this application filed May 25,

. 1917.- Serial N0. 170,978.

Be it known that I, NILs D. LEVIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mining-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing. I

This invention relates to coal mining and loading machines; that is, machines. each of which is provided with means for forming a horizontal kerf in the natural coal bed, means for forming a vertical kerf communicating with the horizontal kerf, means for breaking the coal down after the kerfs have been formed, means for receiving the coal as it drops and carrying it outward and delivering it to the mine cars, all ofwluch are in operation simultaneously, and devices for bodily moving all of said meansalong the face of the coal While they are operating.

The object of the inventionis to provide an apparatus for these purposes which will have simply constructed and related parts adapted to meet the severe stresses to which they are subjected, which will transmit the power with economy to the several driven parts, and which as an entirety can be readily manipulated in the performing of the several operations.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a mechanism embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1; V

Fig.3 is'a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along the line 3-3iof Fi 1; 1

Fig.4 is a partial plan view on an enlarged scale of some of the partsshown in Fig 'l; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view longitudi nally of the swinging conveyor shown in 9 Fig. 6 shows, detached, the device for operating the feed cable and drum.

Fig. 7 is a conventional, diagrammatic view indicating the relations of the motor and the horizontal cutter bar.

There is a frame structure provided, which comprises a bottom plate 29 having a widened section at 29 and a laterally ex- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. i918.

tending part 29, together with other frame 5, which receives power from the motor 10 through the armature pinion 9 and the wheel 8, this shaft being mounted in bearings 6 and 7. From the same shaft 5,which drivesthe cutting apparatus, is taken the power first, for propelling the machine along the face of the coal; second,for driving the vertically arranged cutting mechanism; and third, for actuating the devices which receive the broken down coal.

The vertical cutting mechanism is shown as being supported and constructed as follows: The bottom frame plate 29 has an upright plate or frame element in two parts, 3030, rigid therewith, the part 30 being at the innermost edge of the plate 29, and the part 3Ov extending outward some distance from the part 30. The vertical cutting apparatus proper comprises inner and outer plates 31-31, which support the ver-.

tical chain 33 and its guide. The chain is provided with cutters 34,- which travel around the sprockets 35, 36, 37 and 38. and along the guideways at the edges of the plates 3131.

The plates 3131 are rigidly secured to the plate 29, either directly or by bolting at 32 to the upright element 30?. a

Power is taken to thiscutting apparatus from the drive shaft 5 by the gearing 94, 93, shaft 92, gearing 91, 90, shaft 87, and the sprocket wheel 35. The shaft 92 is mounted in bearings on brackets 93 and 91. secured to the bottom frame plate 29.

The forward movement of the operative parts ,of the mechanism is effected by means of a cable-14, which. at one end is secured to a feed drum 13, its other-end being adaptlatter is at the lower end of a vertical shaft ed to be secured to a suitable jack or abutment at 15, and the cable being also adapted to be angled or flexed around intermediate abutments.

The drum 13 is secured to a vertical shaft 12 mounted in a suitable bracket 11. This shaft is driven by a worm wheel 16 secured to its upper end which receives power from a Worm 17 secured to a shaft 18. The latter is journa-led in bearings carried by brackets 18 and carries the ratchet wheel 19. With this engages a awl 20. Ratchet and pawl feed devices of t is sort are well known in mining machines. As indicated in the drawings, the pawl 20 is carried by an arm 21 mounted to oscillate about the shaft 18 as a center. By means of the rod 22 and an eccentric strap the arm 21 is connected to an eccentric 28 on the shaft 25. Journaled on the shaft 18 on opposite sides of the ratchet wheel 19' are arms 24, the outer ends of which areconnected together by a trunnioned nut 25. 26 is a screw or threaded rod passing through this nut and connected to the main frame. Mounted upon the arms 24 is a shield 27 adapted to be carried by the arms into the path of the pawl 20 to hold it out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel. By means of the handwheel 28 on the screw 26 the latter can be adjusted, and this in turn will adjust the shield in relation to the pawl. In correspondence with such adjustments the pawl will be heldout of engagement with the ratchet 19 during more or less of its stroke; and in this way the operator can vary the rotation of the feed drum 13 and control the rate of ad- Vance of the machine.

The section29 of the bottom plate or frame element is positioned in the plane of the kerf cut by the'cutting mechanism 3, and is arranged so that it travels under the coal which is to be dislodged, and to receive the loosened coal as it is broken down.

39-39 are breaking down devices which dislodge the coal after both the horizontal kerf and the vertical kerf have been formed. They are wedge-shaped ribs formed integrally with or secured to the inner upright frame element 30 The wedges of the series extend forward successively; that is to say, each lower wedge extends forward somewhat farther than the wedges above it; and consequently the coalwill be first broken down at the bottom of the seam, and the tendency is to form an inclined broken coal face. I

The parts that have been above described, together with others to be now mentioned, are held by a pivot device so that they can swing around a vertical axis. 7 The pivot apparatus comprises a base plate -7 5, with which are formed upward and inward extending arms 76, that are joined, to form a bearing 77. This bearing carries a vertical column 78, the upper part of which is screwthreaded for engagement With a threaded handwheel 79. Above the handwheel is a sleeve 80, at the upper end of which is a cap 81 which is adapted to engage the mine roof. By turnin the handwheel the cap can be forced agalnst the roof and the whole pivot device securely anchored in place.

Pivotally mounted on the column 78 and supported by the bearing .77 is the head casting 82 of the conveyer 83. The frame of the conveyer extends from the head casting 82 to the base plate 29. This conveyer frame serves as a radial strut to guide the operative parts of the machine in a circular path about the pivot devices as acenter. The conveyer 83 comprises an endless chain which travels in suitable guideways and carries horizontally extending flights or scrapers which push the material along a suitable trough. 84 is a head sprocket for the chain and this is journaled upon a sleeve 85 formed on the head casting 82. 85 is a bevel gear connected to the head sprocket 84 and this meshes with a bevel pinion 86 on the aforesaid shaft 87. This shaft is mounted in the bearings 88, 89 and 60, the latter being carried by the aforesaid frame eleattached flights 96, adapted to engage ma terial on the plate 29 and move it into and along the trough 97, which extends along the conveyer frame from the plate 29 to a point of discharge near the head of the conveyer. The conveyer frame consists of suitable structural steel shapes 98 which are ar-' ranged to serve as guides for the conveyer chain 95. These guides are bolted atone end to the head casting 82 and at the'other end to a casting 98 secured to the plate 29. The trough is provided by securing to the conveyer frame a plate or bar on the side along which the conveyer flights are moving upward.-

The foot sprocket for the chain is indicated by 99, and this is mounted upon a pm 99 secured in a. casting 100. The casting 100 is connected to the plate 29 by means of bolts 101 which extend through slots in the casting. By means of a screw 102 the casting 100, together-with the foot sprocket, can

travel in a kerf at the bottom of the coal while lying under the coal block that is being mined, and a third section which is outside of the coal and projects forward along the face, this frame supporting an elongated, inwardly-extending, narrow chain cutter, acting along lines immediately in front of the inwardly projecting part of the plate, a vertical cutting mechanism situ-ated at the inner end of the said plate, comprising avertically-acting, endless chain cutter and a supporting guide for the chain, rigidly secured to,or carried by, the bottom plate, and also a breaking down mechanism supported by the uprising parts, viz: the said supporting guide for the chain and its holder, which move in the inner vertical ker This construction and arrangement of parts enables me to furnish a durable frame element which extends through the bottom kerf and furnishes support for a rectilineal cutter '(in contradistinction from curveforming disk cutters), which frame element or plate also insures the catching of all of the dropping coal.

The chain cutting apparatus, as shown,

has cutting bits which project laterally be yondthe side plates or guide frame elements sufiiclently to provide clearance through the coal for the free bodily movement of the chain itself and of the relatively stationary parts which must travel in the vertical kerf.

I break down the coal in a novel and advantageous manner. The breaking down devices are so arranged, relatively, that the lowermost part of the undermined coal will be dislodged at vertical lines well forward toward the front-end of the under-running plate section 2.9, while the coal in the higher horizontal planes, successively, will be dislodged at vertical lines successively farther back from the front of the plate.

If the breaking down devices be so ar-' ranged as to form a substantially vertical broken face they must be placed, at a. relatively long distance behind the cutting appara-hiss- But bv placing them so that the coal is broken off in such a way as to leave an inclined face (intersecting the normal front face) the lowermost breaking elements can be brought up relatively close to the vertical lines of the cutting apparatus, and all of the elements of this part of the machine can be arranged compactly. The shaft which drives the inner vertical cutter extends across the chamber or space behind the broken face, but can be kept close thereto.

The mechanism includes also a second conveyer 10-1, which is of the same type as the main conveyer 83. It is formed with a suitable framework, mounted on a truck 105, the latter having wheels 106 resting on the rails of the mine track 107. The inner end of the trough of the conveyer 104 is formed with a receiving hopper 108 adapted torest on the aforesaid plate 75 between the arms 76 to receive the material discharged from ,will be readily undelstood. The pivot device is first secured in position at the center of a room, as shown in Figs. 2 and 'The swinging part is initially positioned at the extreme right-hand side of the room and the feed rope is connected to a jack 15 positioned at the extreme left-hand side. Posts or jacks 119 are placed along the curved face of the room for holding the rope in position at points intermediate of its ends. A car 111 having been placed in position the motors are started and the machine performs the operations above referred to. The cutting mechanism 3 forms a horizontal kerf at or near the bottom of the coal. Soon afterward the vertical cutting mechanism commences to form a vertical cut behind the mass of coal adjacent to the normal front. face. The plate section 29 enters the bottom horizontal kerf and travels under the down-hanging block. The lower breaking down wedges loosen the lower part of the coal of the block which has been under cut and severed at the back, this action of the lower wedges being immediately followed by a similar actionof the upperwedges, successively. The breaking down devices are so positioned relatively to the horizontal lines of the power transmitting shaft 87 that the latter always has a free path provided for it through the open chamber or space behind the breaking down devices.

.The coal which is dislodged is caught upon the main section 29 or the forward projecting section 29 of the bottom plate, and is immediately engaged by the flights 96 of the conveyer 83, which at once start to remove the masses or particles of coal outward and-upward. finally delivering them into the hopper 108 of the second conveyer 104, which in turn carries the coal upward and rearward and discharge it directly into the car.

When the end of the cut is reached. the feed rope can be loosened from the jack 15 and carried back to the other side of the room and there attached to a jack; and then by winding the rope the machine can be pulled back to the side where it starts its operations.

Then the pivot device is loosened by means of the handwheel 79 and the feed havin rope is carried over a snatchblock anchored at the front of the room, and the end of the rope is secured to the pivot devices. There upon, by winding the rope, the whole machine can be moved bodily forward to the next position where it can be locked in place and the operation above described can be repeated.

Thi application isfiled as a division of applicants earlier application Serial No. 7 83,564, filed August 7, 1913.

The claims herein relate to a mechanism a main frame arranged to move in curvilinear paths around a vertical axis and also having a vertical cutter operating on vertical lines inside of the front face of the coal; and I do not herein claim any. of the subjects matter appearing in my copending application Ser. No. 783,565, filed Aug. 7, 1913 wherein the claims describe a subject matter including a blow imparting mechanism for breaking down the coal.

What I claim is:

1. In a coal mining and unloading apparatus, the combination of a frame, a motor thereon, power devices for moving the frame outside, of and along to the coal face, means for causing the said frame when moving tofollow a curvilinear path, the cutting mechanism for forming a horizontal kerf at the bottom of the coal, the cutting mechanism for forming a vertical kerf inside of the front face'thereof, the plate carried by the frame and extending through the horizontal kerf, the vertically arranged plate secured to the aforesaid plate and arranged to support the vertical kerf cutting mechanism and to travel in the vertical kerf, breaking '40 down mechanism carried by the said vertical plate, power transmitting devices for the vertical kerf cutting mechanism arranged in the space behind the breaking down devices, and the power actuated conveyer,having its. receivingend below the breaking down devices and the said power transmitting devices. I 4

2. In a coal mining and loading apparatus, the combination of a pivot device adapted to be fastened stationarily to the mine floor, a radius frame mounted on and swinging around said pivot device and carrying a bottom plate, a motor on said plate,

a cutting apparatus adapted to form a horizontal kerf at the bottom of the coal, power actuated devices for moving the frameialong the coal face, an endlessconveyer mounted arranged to break down the coal after the horizontal and vertical kerfs have been outer part of the main frame across the chamber behind the undermined coal to drive on and movablerelatively to the and having its receiving endin the horizontal planes f the aforesaid cutting apparatus device, a supplemental vertical cutting apparatus arranged to form a kerf inside of the end of the conveyer, brealn'ng down means formed, a ower transmitting device extending across the space behind the face of the broken down coal for actuating the vertical kerf cutting mechanism.

movable horizontally around a fixed vertical axis and having a' base plate adapted to move bodily in a kerf under the coal that is being mined, the vertically arrangedcutter chain at the inner endof the said plate, the

and its delivery end at the aforesaid pivot 3. The combination of the main frame vertically arranged support adapted totravel in the vertical kerf formed by the said cutter chain, the horlzontal kerf-cuttmg mechanism carried by the main frame and positioned in front of the said base plate to form the kerf throu h which "the plate passes, the power mec' anism on the main frame, and the shaft extending from the the vertical cutter chainl 4. The combination of the main frame movable horizontally around a fixed vertical axis and having a base plate adapted to move bodily in a kerf under the coal that is being mined, the vertically arranged cutter chain at the inner end of the said plate, 7

means for supporting said chain thereon, means for breaking down the coalto form' a broken face intersecting the normal front face and adapted to cause the dislodgment of the lowermost part of the undermined coal at vertical lines relatively near the front edge of the plate and to dislodge the. coal in the higher horizontal. planes substantially as set forth, whereby the broken face of the undermined coal is inclined upward andbackward relatively to the advance of the machine when in operation, and means hevertical cutter. y

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ms D. LEVIN.

Witnesses: V i

H. Y. LEVIN,

R. R. Donner.

19! hind the sloping broken face for driving the 

